Answer:
Jewish Law has traditionally opposed birth control or abortion when
practiced for purely selfish reasons. The first mitzvah we find in the
Torah is to have children, to "be fertile and increase". Judaism
believes that a home without children is a home without blessing.
However, Judaism also believes that as long as a couple is planning to
have children, the concept of planned parenthood or spacing of births
does not constitute a religious problem in Judaism. Judaism is more
concerned with the birth control method used; in particular, some
methods are not permitted because of the injunction against "the
destruction of seed." For example, contemporary Orthodox rabbinical
authority has expressed no objection to the use of the "pill". Still,
the use of condoms is forbidden, as are some uterine devices. [Note
that, for traditional Jews, the use of condoms with respect to the
AIDS crisis is not an issue, for sex is permitted only within a
monogamous marriage.]
It is also true though, that traditionally Judaism has encouraged
having many children. Some of this is based on the argument that,
after the Holocaust, Jews should not avoid having children. The
minimum number of children one must have to fulfill the Mitzvah "to be
fertile and increase" is a matter of rabbinic dispute. Some rabbis say
that one must have at least two children, and some say at least one of
each sex.
With respect to the liberal movements, such as Reform Judiasm: Again,
birth control or abortion is opposed when practiced for purely selfish
reasons. Birth control are accepted under certain conditions such as
where pregnancy represents a health hazard to the mother or child, or
when previous children have been born defective. Liberal judaism
extends this concept to include extreme poverty, inadequate living
conditions and threats to the welfare of existing children in the
family. The Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform) goes so far
as to declare that birth control is a necessity under certain family
conditions. Most Reform and some Conservative rabbis subscribe to the
program of planned parenthood. Liberal judaism has no problem with the
use of condoms.
A closely related issue is that of therapeutic abortion, prescribe by
a physician to save the life or health of a pregnant woman. In Jewish
law such an action is considered entirely justified. The life of the
mother, Jews believe, is more important than that of a child not yet
born, both to her husband and to any other children she might have.
In Judaism, if a woman is pregnant, and she finds out that there is a
possibility that either she or the baby is will die if the pregnancy
continues, then the woman must have an abortion. Of course, rarely is
the risk so cut-and-dry. In practice, one has to assess the odds of
each course of action. If one can, a doctor and a Rabbi should be
consulted. In case of doubt, such as an emergency where one can't
spend time looking for one's Rabbi, the mother's life takes
precedence.
Abortion before 40 days gestation is prohibited, but is not considered
murder. There are numerous issues that override the prohibition. For
example, the sanity (not just the happiness, but actual competency) of
a rape victim. This too has to be evaluated by a Rabbi and a doctor
(and a psychologist) to see exactly how much is at risk.
The most important consideration in both questions is: what is the
best for the entire family? The sanctity of marriage is not in
reproduction. It is in the bond that exist between husband, wife and
the children they want and love.

User Contributions:

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: